Gordon Brown provoked fury last night over plans to raise the minimum wage by a paltry 5p.

It would increase the hourly rate of low-paid adults just 0.8 per cent to £5.78 - the lowest in the policy's history.

Campaigners called it a slap in the face for hard-up workers when the Government has splashed out around £37billion bailing out Britain's reckless bankers.

Unison leader Dave Prentis said: "The Government cannot be serious. This would be a pitifully low increase. It's not going to help the low-paid meet their rising heating and housing costs."

Senior Whitehall sources have told the Mirror they expect ministers to announce the few pence rise next week.

But the Prime Minister and Business Secretary Lord Mandelson have been warned they risk a repeat of the 75p pension backlash where the elderly were given a tiny increase. Senior sources at the Department of Work and Pensions said unions needed to expect any rise to be small. They argued the country was in a recession and the minimum wage needed to reflect this.

But TUC general secretary Brendan Barber fears the low paid could even get a zero increase. He said: "The recession was caused by highly paid people damaging the nation's financial system.

"It would not be fair to make the low paid suffer a freeze in wages and a lower quality of life while the city bankers still get their bonuses."

Business organisations have actually urged a freeze on the minimum wage.

But Mr Barber said: "It is not surprising they are saying it will threaten jobs and that it should be frozen during the recession.

The same employer groups warned us 10 years ago that introducing the minimum wage would destroy jobs.

"In fact it has been one of this Government's greatest successes and has improved the living standards of thousands of families across the UK with no adverse side effects."

The minimum wage was first introduced in the UK in 1999 for those aged over 22. It was initially set at £3.60 and has risen each year since.